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History of NNMTA

The Northern New Mexico District Tennis Association was founded in 1973 for the purpose of "promoting the game of tennis as a district of the Southwest Section of the USTA". As many of the early members belonged to the Tennis Club of Albuquerque, the official address during those early years was the TCA on Indian School Road. Among the early presidents was Dona Boyden, a TCA member, who for her many efforts in organizing the association, was inducted into the Southwest (SWS) Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

During the 1980's the association counted fifteen tennis clubs and public facilities as members. Tony Bull (inducted into the SWS Hall of Fame in 2015) and Joe Long were among the presidents during that decade (Sissy Kelly, a vice-president, jumped straight to Southwest Section president in 1989). Sissy was inducted into the SWS Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000 along with Dona. Besides the president in those days, there were two vice-presidents, one in charge of player rankings, the other in charge of tournament sanctioning (most of these functions are now done by the Southwest Section).

In the early years the association was a 'friendly' organization involved mostly in junior development and age-level tournaments. Then in the 1990's several changes were made. With Anthonie Worley as president in 1990 a full articles of incorporation were prepared and the association became a registered corporation in the State of New Mexico. And a year later it became an official Section 501(c) (7) non-profit organization with the IRS. During 1993 the word District was informally dropped from the association's name (and six years later the New Mexico Corporation Commission was officially informed of the change).

At the end of the decade (1999) the bi-laws of the NNMTA were formally amended to include -among other things- an expanded statement of the association's purpose, namely: "to promote tennis as a means of healthful recreation, physical fitness, and athletic competition by, 1) awarding and sanctioning tournaments and exhibition matches, 2) establishing NNMTA championships to be awarded member clubs, and 3) promoting interest and activity in tennis and holding tournaments as part of the local and national intercollegiate, interscholastic and public parks programs, plus encouraging junior development through cooperation with local authorities, and endeavoring to improve playing conditions and standards of play".

Even this brief history would not be complete without a mention of the association's presidents over the past dozen or so years. They include: Jim Beckley, Mark Thompson, Sue Jollensten (inducted into the SWS Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003), Sarah Ortmann, Richard Rubin, Bev Bourguet, Dick Johnson (inducted into the SWS Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008), Don Larrichio, Wendy Thomas, Lynn Begay, Corey Matney, Joe Felice and Shelley Barker. The number of committees has grown over the past two decades from 7 in 1988 (League, Junior Development, Senior Development, Public Relations, Banquet & Awards, Grievances, and Budget) to more than 16 today (including Parks & Recreation, Junior Competitive, and Diversity).

The source for dissemination of information about the association has changed considerably over the past two decades as well. An association newsletter was prepared first by Curtis Kryzkowski in the late 1980's, then Doug Cheves in the early 1990's, and then in 1992 it was incorporated into Sun Country Tennis by Dick Gorman (inducted into the SWS Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002). Now, the main source of information is through the NNMTA website and Sun Country Tennis E-Newsletter.

From the mid-1960's through much of the 1970's there was strong community involvement on the Albuquerque tennis scene in the form of two organizations: The Junior Tennis League and The Albuquerque Tennis Patrons.

The Junior Tennis League ran a junior high school league plus a season ending championship that included ten schools. They also sponsored tennis lessons and drop-in tennis for both adults and juniors at the Beverly Courts (Indian School & Louisiana) with Vivien Bull (1998 SWS Tennis Hall of Famer) as director. It also supported dozens of junior players who for many years went to tournaments in El Paso, Phoenix, Tucson and elsewhere, often in buses arranged by the members of the Junior Tennis League board. The main driving force of the JTL - other than Vivien Bull - was Bert Lindsay who served as president during its most active years.

The Albuquerque Tennis Patrons was the other half of the very active Albuquerque tennis community for a decade or more. They provided support for the juniors who played in the several Southwest Section tournaments; they ran tournaments for both adults and juniors, and they sponsored clinics, benefits and various other fund raising events; and they also worked with the city for the construction of a first class public tennis facility - the Albuquerque Tennis Complex.

The stated purpose of the Tennis Patrons were to "foster amateur tennis in the Albuquerque area; to conduct educational programs to promote tennis interest, ability and facilities in the schools and public parks; to conduct tennis clinics and otherwise provide coaching instruction, particularly for young players; and generally to promote sportsmanship, health, recreation and physical fitness in the Albuquerque community".

The many names of those actively involved in the organization range from Bobby Stamm, first president, and Jane Wolak, president during the early 1970's, plus Nancy Neeld (1996 SWS Tennis Hall of Famer), Paige Shunny (1998 SWS Tennis Hall of Famer), Chuck Maguire and others, too many to mention. As the NNMDTA became more active in Albuquerque's tennis scene the Albuquerque Tennis Patrons disbanded in the early 1980's.